Golf-club head



Jan. 12 1926.

E. L. MUNSON GOLF CLUB HEAD Filed Dec. 24, 1924 Zdmundllfamon 351 Ms flbtoma Patented Jan. 12,1926.

UNITED STATES EDMUND L. MUNSON, OF MOUNT KISGO, NEW YORK.

GOLF-CLUB HEAD.

. Application filed December 24, 1924. Serial No. 757,843.

To all 10 From it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, EDMUND L. MUNsoN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Mount Kisco, VVestchester County,

. New York, have invented an Improvement in Golf-Club Heads, of which the following is a specification. a

My invention relates to an improvement in the heads of golf clubs, and while the head may be adapted to clubs of various kinds,it is especially adapted for use as a brassie, driver, or spoon. In other words it is particularly well suited to take the place of what is generally a wooden club. My invention is intended to produce a cheaper, stronger, and generally better club head than has heretofore beenused. In carrying out this idea I make the club head of metal and preferably in the general form of a ring, open from top to bottom and having a faceted or flattened side for impact with the ball. The club head can be a casting, and has a shank integral with it to which the customary driving shank of wood, steel, or other material can be conveniently attached. By making the club head of the general formation described, I get many advantages. First it can be made of the right weight and still be unusually strong. Next by having it hollow from top to bottom it enables the club to be used to great advantage in the rough, or where the ball has a cuppy lie, as the turf, grass or dirt will pass up through the hollow part of the head allowing the face to settle into firm sure contact with the ball. Another advantage is that if desired the head can be made slightly resilient so that the face will yield very slightly at the moment of impact with the ball, but not enough to prevent its reaction before the ball leaves contact with the club. The result is bad if there is much springiness to the face of the club, as both distance and direction are lost; but in my club head the springiness is incidental,about that of a wooden club,and by reason of the shape of the head, is distributed through the whole head instead'of being confined to any one part. This effect can be easily had because of the generally circular shape of the club head which makes it exceedingly strong, and by having the face very slightly resilient, the tendency is to more surely center the ball and prevent slicing or hooking it. Owing, however, to the substantially uniform thickness of the wall of the head, the

strain of a blow is distributed as stated. These and other advantages will appear from the description which follows.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this speci V fication, in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding vlews.

Figure l is a plan view of the club head (Y embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a face view thereof.

Figure 3 is an end view, and

Figure 1 is a cross section through the head.

The club head can most conveniently be a casting, and while it can be made of any suitable material, it is preferably an aluminum alloy which will give the required strength and lightness. As stated the head is in the general form of a ring 10 which is substantially circular as shown best in Figure 1, and which is open from top to bottom as at 11, the ring or head being preferably thinned slightly vertically as at 12, and inside and out it is tapered vertically as shown, being slightly smaller at the bottom, and in fact being of the general exterior shape of the usual driver or brassie, a shape wgiich custom has taught to be most desira e.

The face of the head is flattened or faceted as shown at 15, and as in the case of other club heads this face can be given any desired shape, that is to say it can be more or less lofted, or can be slightly concaved or convexed to suit the idiosyncrasies of a particular player or for the purposes of a particular club. It is also concaved slightly, though not necessarily, on the under side as shown at 16, and at one end it merges into a shank 17 generally like the shank of an ordinary iron club. The shank has a bore 18 extending through it and preferably to the sole of the club head, in which a steel or wooden shaft 19 can be fitted, and the shaft may be held in place in any convenient way, as for instance by a transverse screw 20.

As above remarked, the club head can be given the general shape of a brassie or driver head, or in fact any desired shape, but the important thing is that it can be cast cheaply and perfectly, and its generally circular shape and the fact that it is hollow from top to bottom, renders it a peculiarly serviceable club head. It will be seen that when the club is swung and the head parts in all the brought down to contact with the ball, obstructions which would ordinarily engage the sole of the usual club would pass through the opening 11 and permit the face 15 of the club to come into proper contact with the ball, whereas if the club were solid the result would probably be that the ball would be topped or otherwise imperfectly hit.

Attention is again called to the fact that the circular shape of the ring head makes it Very strong and that for this reason resilience may be had in the face if desired without weakening the club, and the slight springiness will be distributed through the whole club head. The club heads which I have made have been cast, and I find it a simple proposition to cast the head and that the only finishing necessary is to buff or otherwise smooth up the casting.

In Figure 1 it will be noticed that the wall of the head is of substantially uniform thickness, and this causes the slight spring resulting from impact on the ball to be dis tributed through the whole head. l\Ioreover, this uniformity of thickness, together with the peculiar dishing shape of the head, enables the club head to settle more accurately and more easily to its correct position on the ground.

I claim 1. A golf club head of general ring shape, having a flattened face, an unobstructed opening from top to bottom, a wall of substantially uniform thickness, and a rigid shank rising from one side of the club head.

2. A golf club head of general ring shape having a flattened face, a wall of substantially uniform thickness, said wall being tapered to make the opening through the club larger at the top, and a rigid shank rising from one side of the club head.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification this 22d day of. December, 1924;.

' EDMUND L. IWUNSON. 

